tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309999347712183025.post6682248643230630831..comments2015-01-21T10:15:33.367-05:00Comments on kinexxions: Wiseman, Willman, Wisensam!!Becky Wisemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08074730861618500334noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309999347712183025.post-89529692744848961232007-10-21T11:11:00.000-04:002007-10-21T11:11:00.000-04:00So true Terry, the more people that get involved w...So true Terry, the more people that get involved with transcribing and indexing, the better. I have high hopes for the indexing being done by FamilySearch volunteers. I know from personal experience also that it is not an easy task to deciper some of those illegible scribblings. I applaud anyone who takes on the task and certainly appreciate their efforts.Beckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08074730861618500334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2309999347712183025.post-77732182389569653642007-10-19T21:31:00.000-04:002007-10-19T21:31:00.000-04:00Becky, You have encountered an all too common prob...Becky, You have encountered an all too common problem in the indexing of census records. <BR/><BR/>And you've inspired me to make two comments (1) When you are completely stumped searching for the surname, switch over to a search for just a given name and see what pops up! This works very well with Heritage Quest and with a fairly unique given name; and (2) remember that the transcriber of the handwritten record may be someone just like me! I transcribed an entire county's census report (Fayette Cty, Alabama) and prepared both a Head-of-Household Index and then an every-name index. It was just me --- days spent trying to figure out what in the dickens the census taker was trying to write! Between bad penmanship from 100 years ago and typographical errors introduced by yours truly, I can't image how many researchers have been dismayed at the wild and woolly spellings of surnames! But as far as I know, that index is still the only one available online for that county for that year. <BR/><BR/>Yes, those problems in transcription can be difficult for the researcher to work around. I'm glad that most efforts today involve more than one transcriber's guesstimate of the spellings!<BR/>Terry Thornton<BR/>Hill Country of Monroe County, MississippiTerry Thorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01251750196282728118noreply@blogger.com